After quickly leaving the factory by carriage, Lucia and Wendy returned to the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce building and walked straight to the President’s office on the upper floor, finally stopping in front of the door.
Lucia glanced at Wendy, who had already taken off her cloak, then looked at her own right shoulder where the torn fabric revealed pale skin.
She hesitated in front of the door.
Just as Lucia was thinking about whether she should go change her clothes first, a voice came from inside the room.
“Come in.”
Inside the room, Enya sat in a chair, idly flicking her fan staff, while her other hand toyed with her own silver hair.
Her pale golden eyes fixed on the door.
Click~
The lock turned, and the door was pushed open from outside. Lucia walked in slowly, then stopped very close to the door, almost blocking Wendy’s path.
Lucia looked tense, her whole body stiff. In contrast, Wendy seemed much calmer and more relaxed.
Enya glanced at Lucia’s shoulder. The fabric there had been sliced open by a sharp weapon, but the exposed skin showed no wound, not even a trace of healing.
She shifted her gaze to the side, to Wendy, who was trying to sneak into a corner. Enya narrowed her eyes. Though she was smiling, there was a cold edge to it.
Enya chuckled and said to her forest elf maid.
“I told you to stay close and protect her. Is this how you do it?”
“Um…”
Wendy immediately lowered her head.
Even though she had been following Lucia the whole time she investigated alone, the fact remained that Lucia had been injured.
Wendy didn’t intend to make excuses, so she just kept her head down.
They were speaking Elvish, which Lucia didn’t understand. But from where Enya’s gaze had landed and from Wendy’s reaction, Lucia realized Enya was blaming Wendy.
Lucia grew anxious. She lifted her eyes slightly to look at Enya.
After taking a deep breath, she spoke.
“Mistress, it’s not Wendy’s fault. I was too overconfident, thinking Lakeside City was completely safe, so I didn’t have Wendy stay by my side. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”
“…”
Enya looked at Lucia, then turned to shoot a glare at Wendy.
“Lucia, I gave her an order to protect you. You got hurt, so it’s her responsibility. Understand?”
“Understood…”
Lucia lowered her eyes, feeling a bit resentful toward Enya for being so harsh.
But then she remembered that the “Mistress” before her wasn’t human—she was a Dragon from the Northern Continent—and she became a little more understanding.
The mistress isn’t human at all!
After scolding Lucia, Enya turned to look at Wendy, who was peeking from the corner.
Wendy had been with her longer, so she definitely knew that Enya wasn’t actually angry—she was just pretending.
Enya glared at her and snorted.
“Remember to come to my room tonight to accept your punishment.”
“Oh.”
Wendy nodded.
As soon as Enya’s gaze shifted away, she quickly slipped into a corner and was about to sit on her little stool when Enya suddenly spoke.
“Tsk, I didn’t tell you to sit yet.”
“…”
Wendy’s legs, which had just started to bend, immediately straightened.
She stood up properly again and silently walked over to stand beside Lucia.
The two of them stood like students facing a teacher, heads bowed, waiting to be called on. The first one called was Lucia.
Enya closed her fan staff and set it on the table before speaking.
“Lucia, write a written report and hand it to me later. Wendy needs to submit one too. When you write yours, teach her how to write as well.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Lucia clutched the hem of her skirt.
Though she felt guilty for causing Wendy trouble, she also understood that punishing Wendy was actually a way of reprimanding her.
Truly worthy of Ms. Enya.
Maybe Enya wasn’t thinking anything at all…
Or maybe she just wanted to scare Lucia?
Enya watched with amusement as the subtle expressions flickered across Lucia’s face.
It was far more interesting than Wendy, whose mind was so simple it had reached the level of a simpleton.
Lucia noticed Enya was observing her, and her heartbeat quickened. Her mind started racing, wondering what deeper meaning Enya might have.
After a moment, Enya couldn’t help but yawn.
“Alright, you may both leave now.”
“…Yes, Mistress.”
Lucia frowned inwardly.
She had sensed a playful tone in Enya’s voice just now, as if there was hidden meaning, but she couldn’t figure it out at all.
Wendy, hearing that they could go, showed a hint of joy.
If she hadn’t been looking down, the uncontrollable smile curling the corners of her mouth would have been seen by Enya.
Though Enya probably knew anyway.
The two maids withdrew. Standing outside the door after closing it, they both let out a sigh of relief. Lucia even felt a little weak in the knees.
She leaned against the wall to steady herself, then turned to look at Wendy when she felt her gaze.
She looked at the beautiful forest elf maid beside her, slowly lowered her eyes, and parted her peach-pink lips.
“Sorry…”
“For what?”
“It’s my fault you got scolded by the mistress. I didn’t mean to take credit, I just thought you were so beautiful that you’d stand out too much.”
“Me? Beautiful?”
Wendy was incredulous. She had absolutely no confidence in her looks. Among the forest elves, she was only average. If you dropped her into a crowd of forest elves, you’d lose sight of her.
Wendy gave a simple, honest smile.
“Thank you. I’m really happy.”
“Um…”
Lucia hadn’t expected Wendy to be so happy about it. It caught her off guard. She couldn’t face Wendy’s bright smile, so she turned her head away and replied in a low voice.
“I’m glad you’re happy… By the way…”
As she spoke, Lucia suddenly remembered something she had been wanting to ask Wendy for a long time. This seemed like a good opportunity to bring it up.
“Can you teach me the elven language?”
Inside the room, Enya leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ornate lamps on the ceiling.
Her eyes were now vertical slits.
A Nightmare’s abilities are diverse. There is the power to make fear descend, the ability to walk through dreams, and the power to create Nightmare Knights.
Enya is the Empress of the Nightmare Knights. This army will serve her. The Empress’s will is the direction in which the Nightmare Knights’ swords point.
Earlier, Enya had made that front desk woman take a Sixth Rank Nightmare down, slip into that Anthony’s body through his gaze, control him back to the Lord’s Castle, create chaos, and conveniently kill an ant that was trying to stir up trouble.
Enya narrowed her eyes. In her vision was that Dream World. The originally dark and empty Lakeside City was now filled with all kinds of Nightmare monsters, turning it into a demon city.
“Hehe. Guess the people of Lakeside City are going to have a lot of nightmares now.”
Enya let out a wicked laugh.
The Dream World is not the real world. It is a mental world unconsciously formed by people, sandwiched between reality and the Spirit Sea.
Think of it as the gathering of this place’s Common Dream.
Nightmare Knights are generated by stripping the fear from dreamers. They are like puppet familiars, a type of summoned creature. Their strength depends on the strength of the person whose fear was stripped. If the fear stripped was Enya’s own, then it would be a Nine Steps Nightmare, but that’s almost impossible.
Not to mention whether Enya even has a fear that can make her feel despair. Even if she did, experiencing that would be akin to childbirth. Enya has been through it once and doesn’t want a second time.
Looking at the Nightmare Knight legion placed inside the Common Dream of Lakeside City, Enya frowned slightly and muttered to herself.
“They’re useful, but there are too few…”
“Sigh. I’ll just have to make the people of Lakeside City suffer a little. Let them have more nightmares.”
“Hehe. I’m so evil~”
Enya covered her mouth and snickered.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.